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Forget resilience, Pinoys are just dystopian optimists

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Global pandemics. Economic crises. World War III. Climate Change. A planet-wide domination by machines. These are popular movie themes which have since come to life. Although, to our horror all are happening at the same time: COVID-19, stag-flation , Putin, China, floods, and -- the cherry on top -- a mis/disinformation scourge . Think The Matrix movie but instead of sentient machines the world got screwed over by smartphones and 'fake news'. MORDOR: Metro Manila as caught in the lens of netizen LouiedaGoddess Oviedo in 2012. Blanketed by smog and shadowed by rain clouds the warm light from street lamps penetrate through the early evening hours while top-floor penthouses sparsely light up the skyline. The imagery evocates the volcanic plains of Mordor from the novel, The Lord of The Rings . Set in the Philippines where 79% of Filipinos identify as somewhat poor , a cocktail of apocalypses is not really the most appealing prospect. When top US official Nancy Pelosi visited Tai...
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Cable Cars won't work in Philippine cities

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In Hong Kong they actually use cable cars to get people across mountainous areas, although it was mostly for tourism. In Latin America and China, the same technology are catching up fast as an actual mode of mass transportation. Are we ready for cable cars in urban cities in the Philippines? Not likely. We currently do not have laws for "air rights" which would be needed to secure the space above private properties and let the cables through. Otherwise, the lines would have to follow along existing roads thus defeating the whole point of a cable car system in NCR or in any major city for that matter. GONDOLAS ON ZIP-LINES: A cable car tower of Ngong Ping 360 (formerly Tung Chung Cable Car Project), Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2017. This route ferries tourists to popular destinations in the area: The Big Buddha, Ngong Ping Village and Disneyland Hong Kong. The proposal to use cable cars as a solution for traffic congestion was introduced by former DOTr Sec. Tugade and Sen. Grac...
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